Lions are bowl bound

Thursday

Nov 29, 2012 at 6:00 AMNov 29, 2012 at 10:12 AM

By Bill Marsh, BANNER STAFF

The West Boylston/Tahanto Regional High School football team is heading to the Central Mass. Division 5 Super Bowl.

Aided by a tenacious defense and strong special teams play, the Lions took a 14-7 decision from Narragansett Regional in the divisional playoff game at Oakmont Regional's Arthur I. Hurd Memorial Field on Tuesday night.

West Boylston/Tahanto will now play Leicester, which defeated Tyngsboro in the other divisional playoff, on Saturday, in the Division 5 Super Bowl, at Worcester State University, at 10 a.m.

The Lions own an 11-1 record, which ties the 1988 Super Bowl champion team for the most wins in school history.

The victory also marks only the second time that a West Boylston/Tahanto team has advanced to the Super Bowl.

Narragansett, the tournament's fourth seed, finishes the season with an 8-4 record.

In the tightly contested game, 'Gansett struck first.

After an exchange of punts in the first quarter, the Warriors took the ball from their own 42 and moved it to the Lions' 1 in five plays, all on the ground.

On fourth and goal from the 1, with 3:21 left in the first quarter, 'Gansett junior quarterback Jon Lashua burst off tackle to paydirt. The point-after kick by senior Scott Favreau was good, and the Warriors had claimed a 7-0 lead.

As it has done all season, West Boylston/Tahanto came right back.

After the Lions' defense stood tall and forced a turnover on downs at its own 25, West Boylston/Tahanto, aided by a 41-yard pass play from senior fullback Mike Pace to junior split end Bryan Hayes, marched to the 'Gansett 35 in four plays.

“That was a fullback pass to Hayes all the way,” Lions coach Dave Tinglof said. “That was a huge play for us. A very big play.”

On first and 10 from the 35, Pace motored around left end for a touchdown. Senior captain Tyler O'Day's conversion kick was wide right, but the Lions had closed the gap to one point, 7-6.

There was six minutes remaining in the second quarter, but neither team was able to mount a scoring drive before the break.

The Lions didn't waste any time taking the lead in the second half. After Hayes returned the second-half kickoff 15 yards, West Boylston/Tahanto took over on its own 19.

On second and 12 from the 17, junior back Ben Tasker, on an inside reverse, burst through a big hole in the middle and rambled 61 yards to the Warrior 22. Tasker was the Lions' leading rusher in the game, racking up 84 yards on eight carriers.

On the next play, senior quarterback Steven Gould connected with Hayes for 18 yards to the 'Gansett 4.

The Warrior defense then got tough, pushing the Lions back 2 yards in three plays.

Faced with a fourth and goal from the 6, junior back Devin Desautels got the call and motored to paydirt behind the block of senior captain Matt Loureiro. Gould hit Tasker for the two-point conversion, and West Boylston/Tahanto owned a 14-7 lead, its first of the game.

Desautels provided the margin of victory on a blue 61 jet play.

“I went in motion and Matt (Loureiro), our starting guard, pulls,” Desautels said. “He was the lead blocker for me, and I went in (to the end zone).

“It feels great,” he said. “We went to a Super Bowl in Pop Warner, but nothing can compare to this.”

The Lions' defense needed to stop 'Gansett sophomore running back Joe O'Neil, who ran for 100 yards in the first half.

Led by Loureiro; Pace; Hayes; seniors Ryan Lindsay, Rob Jameson and Luke Fancy; and junior Alex Churchill, the West Boylston/Tahanto defense was able to do just that. O'Neil was limited to 6 yards in the second half.

The Lions then kept the Warriors out of the red zone on their next four possessions to preserve the victory.

Desautels intercepted a Lashua pass in the waning minutes of the game to cement it.

O'Day played a key role down the stretch on both defense and special teams. He batted a pass down, forcing a 'Gansett punt, made a huge hit on a fourth and inches play, and boomed a 46-yard punt late in the game to pin the Warriors deep in their own territory.

“These ('Gansett) guys played strong, and I knew it would be a tough game,” West Boylston/Tahanto coach Dave Tinglof said. “Two of the best teams in Division 5 got together tonight and played a great game.

“I am so proud of the way this (West Boylston/Tahanto) team played,” he said. “They've worked so hard this year. Our defense has done it all year, and we are the top defense in all of Central Mass.

“This was a defensive win tonight, for sure,” Tinglof continued. “After that first ('Gansett) drive, we made some adjustments to their formations, we picked up the play, and the second half was ours.

“It was our goal all year from day one to make it (to the Super Bowl), and I knew these guys could achieve it,” he said.

O'Day described his big hit on Warrior junior back Cam Savoy that forced a turnover on downs on fourth and inches with 'Gansett driving at the West Boylston/Tahanto 36.

“We were in double eagle (formation) and we were going to pinch that B-gap hard, and we stood up Savoy,” O'Day said. “Savoy is an unbelievable running back and tough to stop.

“This (making the Super Bowl) is a dream come true,” he said. “We've been working hard for four years and have finally reached the pinnacle.”

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